Tents and like portable structures



Oct. 7, 1958 w. H. PEDDELL TENTS AND LIKE PORTABLE STRUCTURES Filed Nov. 16, 1954 l i I TENTS AND LHKE PORTABLE STRUCTURES William H. Peddeli, Dorking, England, assignor to The Pneumatic Tent Company Limited, Dot-king, England Application November 16, 1954, Serial No. 469,216

Claims priority, application Great Britain November 20, 1953 1 Claim. ((11. 135-1) This invention concerns improvements relating to tents and the like portable structures comprising a covering supported by inflatable pneumatic ribs or frame members. A known form of such tent comprises a framework composed of tubular ribs which, in an inflated erected condition, form an arched structure and a plurality of fabric panels which, upon inflation of the ribs, become stretched between the latter.

Particularly with certain fabrics the warp of which during weaving and finishing is subjected to continuous pull and has a tendency to creep back or shrink in length, it is occasionally found that such a tent has a tendency to distort in the course of use. As a result of the combined effects of shrinkage of the material and stretching of the weft of the material, a condition may be brought about in which the ribs tend to become kinked out of the arched form and parts of the fabric tend to become slack. The invention seeks to obviate this defect.

An object of the invention is to obviate this defect by providing such a tent in which the panels are each made up of material in which the warp is arranged to run transversely of the panels. Preferably each panel is made up of a plurality of sections of the material arranged with the seam or seams running transversely of the panel, that is horizontally. With such panels, shrinkage tends to draw in the sides of the panel, but as ther is little or no shrinkage on the weft, the arch of the ribs is little affected or is unaffected.

One embodiment of the invention by way of example will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a tent having an arched pyramidal form with a square bare, and Figure 2 is a plan view of the same tent to a reduced scale. Arched inflatable pneumatic ribs 1 of rubber-treated canvas run from the corners of the base to the apex where they cross and/or ice are connected. The ribs are provided with an inflating nipple 2 and may be furnished with peg means 3 for anchorage in the ground.

Each panel stretched between two ribs 1 consists of a plurality of sections, for example and as illustrated three sections 4, 5, 6, of canvas or like material having the warp running transversely of the panel, that is horizontally, and these sections are connected together by transversely extending scams 7, 8. Each section may suitably be of roughly equal width at right angles to the said seams 7, 8.

With this form of construction of the panels, stretching and shrinking of the material in the direction of the warp is taken up by the pneumatic ribs without causing objectionable distortion of the tent. Contraction due to shrinkage is spread evenly down the ribs.

One or, if necessary, more of the panels is provided with a closable entry opening 10. Preferably, the opening is an approximately round opening located at the middle of the upstanding wall portion of the panel and closable by a flap 11 which can be rolled up to a position above the opening. Transverse sections such as 4 and 6 may then continue across the panel above and below the opening.

A cowl 9 tied to the ribs 1 lies over ventilation openings at the head of the tent.

The invention can be applied to other forms of tent, for example a tent with a hexagonal base.

I claim:

A tent, comprising a structural framework of inflatable rib members which, in an inflated condition are archshaped and form an arched structure, and a tent covering comprising a plurality of fabric side panels each arranged between adjacent rib members and consisting of a plurality of fabric sections, said sections having their ends secured to said adjacent rib members and being joined to adjacent sections by seams with said seams and the warp threads of the material of said sections running from one to another of said adjacent rib members transversely of the panel, that is, running horizontally in the erected condition of the tent, whereby in said erected condition any shrinkage of said warp threads will leave the arched form of the structure substantially unaffected.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,167,219 Sankey July 25, 1939 2,297,150 Hunter Sept. 29, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 448,129 Great Britain June 2, 1936 

